Stabbed Va. state senator out of hospital

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A Virginia state senator and onetime gubernatorial candidate stabbed by his son said Friday that he is ‘‘alive so must live,’’ his first public statement since the assault and his son’s suicide shortly thereafter.

Just hours after being released from a hospital, Senator Creigh Deeds said in a tweet: ‘‘I am alive so must live. Some wounds won’t heal. Your prayers and your friendship are important to me.’’

University of Virginia Medical Center spokesman Eric Swensen said Deeds, 55, was released Friday morning. Deeds was airlifted from his Bath County home Tuesday after police say his son stabbed him multiple times and then shot himself with a rifle.

State police investigators are still trying to understand what prompted the violent encounter between Deeds and his 24-year-old son, Gus.

According to media outlets, an emergency custody order was issued Monday for Gus Deeds, but he was released because mental health workers could not find him a psychiatric bed. Several hospitals have said they could have accommodated Deeds.